Earnings Surprises 1-28-99

BarbaraC. Costanza

Shares of LSI Logic Corp. (LSI)
LSI, -0.72%
could get a boost Friday morning on news of a better-than-expected financial report. The company broke even, excluding one time charges, in the fourth quarter. Analysts were looking for a 3-cent loss. Shares closed up 1 1/2 to 24 3/4.

Infoseek Corp. (SEEK)
SEEK, +9,900.00%
could see its stock shoot up on news of a narrower-than-expected loss in the first quarter. The company recorded a 39-cent loss, 5 cents better than analysts projected. Shares closed up 12 1/2 to 83 15/16.

Aspect Development Inc. (ASDV)
ASDV, +0.42%
shares could get a lift on its positive earnings surprise. The company posted net income of $5.9 million or 18 cents a share, beating the consensus estimate by 4 cents a share. Revenue for the quarter rose to $25.4 million from $16.8 million in the year-ago period. Shares closed down 5/16 to 30 3/16.

After the market closed, Broadcast.com (BCST)
bcst
also reported a smaller-than-expected loss. The company posted a 21-cent loss in the fourth quarter. Analysts were expecting a 25-cent loss according to First Call. Revenue for the quarter hit $7.6 million compared to the year-ago total of $3.2 million. Shares rose 28 1/16 to close at 180.

Scientific-Atlanta (SFA)
SFA, +5.00%
reported a second-quarter profit 16 cents a share, excluding a 9-cent gain from the sale of some of its interest in Broadcom Corp. The Wall Street consensus estimate was 12 cents a share. Shares closed up 3/8 to 30 ahead of the news.

Mercury Interactive Corp. (MERQ)
merq
reported net income of $9.3 million or 47 cents a share compared to $5.1 million or 28 cents a share. Revenue for the quarter rose to $41 million from $24.2 million a year ago. The report beat the First Call consensus estimate by 6 cents a share. Shares closed up 1 1/2 to 57 1/8 ahead of the news.

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW)
DOW, +0.07%
shares closed up 1.2 percent Thursday afternoon on news the company posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit of $1.10 a share, vs. $1.55 the same period last year. Analysts projected it would make $1.08 a share, according to First Call. Dow said the year-over-year drop in earnings reflected lower chemical prices. Shares rose 1 1/16 to 88 1/16.

Mapics Inc. (MAPX)
mapx
posted first-quarter net income of $6 million, or 26 cents a share. The software company's earnings beat the year-ago profit by 5 cents a share and the First Call consensus estimate by 1 cent. Revenue for the quarter rose to $38.4 million compared to $29.5 million in the year-ago period. However, shares closed down 1 9/16 to 10 3/8 on news NationsBanc Montgomery cut its rating on the stock to "hold" from "buy."

GeoCities (GCTY)
GCTY, +0.00%
, which also agreed to a blockbuster $4.6 billion acquisition by Yahoo, said it lost 27 cents a share in its fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts polled by First Call projected a loss of 34 cents. GeoCities reported a 14-cent loss in last year's fourth quarter and a 14-cent loss in the third quarter. Shares soared 42 1/4 to close at 117 1/4. See related story.

Excel Switching Corp. (XLSW)
xlsw
reported a fourth-quarter profit of 21 cents a share, a penny ahead of the First Call consensus estimate. However, two brokerage firms cut the company's rating, sending shares down 4 3/4 to 29 1/4. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter cut its rating on the stock to "outperform" from "strong buy" and Tucker Anthony cut its rating to "market perform" from "outperform."

Shares of X-Rite Inc. (XRIT)
xrit
rose 17 percent on a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit of 15 cents a share. Analysts were looking for a 10-cent profit. Last year the company earned a profit of 21 cents a share. Sales for the quarter were $25.4 million, slightly higher than the year-ago total of $25 million. Shares rose 1 3/16 to 8.

Surgical and medical products manufacturer Stryker Corp. (SYK)
SYK, +0.45%
posted fourth-quarter earnings of 46 cents a share on sales of $296 million. Last year the company made 38 cents on sales of $254 million. The computer maker was expected to earn 43 cents a share, according to the analysts surveyed by First Call. Shares fell 1 7/8 to 49 5/8.

Cosmetics company Revlon (REV)
REV, +1.90%
posted earnings of 13 cents a share for the fourth quarter, 3 cents ahead of the consensus estimate taken by First Call. Shares closed down 3/16 to 16.

Dendrite International (DRTE)
drte
shares rose 6.9 percent after the company announced it filed for a 3.25 million-share secondary public offering. The company also said it earned 18 cents a share in the fourth quarter, beating estimates by 3 cents. Dendrite designs electronic territory management systems. Shares rose2 to 31.

RJR Nabisco (RN)
RN, -5.26%
reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings of 58 cents a share, excluding the costs of tobacco-litigation settlement and restructuring. Analysts expected a profit of 51 cents a share. On the news, J.P. Morgan upped its rating of the stock to "buy" from "market perform." Shares closed flat at 27. See full story.

Kroger Co. (KR)
KR, +0.72%
reported fourth-quarter net sales of $7.3 billion compared to the year ago total of $6.5 billion. The company also reported a profit of 68 cents a share, beating the consensus estimate by 2 cents a share. In the year-ago period, earnings were 56 cents a share. Shares rose 1/16 to close at 61 7/16. See full story.

Shares of America Online rose 5.4 percent after the company reported a fiscal second-quarter profit that topped analysts' targets. The company also set a stock split that will slice in half its skyrocketing shares. AOL (AOL)
aol
said that its profit soared 340 percent to $88 million, or 17 cents a share, vs. $20 million, or 4 cents, in the same period a year ago. Analysts surveyed by First Call estimated Dulles, Va.-based AOL would make 14 cents. Shares rose 8 15/16 to close at 174 7/16. See full story.

Macromedia (MACR)
MACR, +0.00%
earned 12 cents a share in the fiscal third quarter, 2 cents ahead of the estimate and well above the loss of 19 cents in the same period a year ago.Revenue rose 44 percent to $38.2 million from $26.6 million. Macromedia supplies multimedia and Web authoring tools. Shares closed up 1/8 to 35.

Shares of New Era of Networks(NEON)
NEON, +1.32%
surged 15 percent to a new all-time high after the software firm said it earned 15 cents a share in its fourth quarter. The performance topped the consensus estimate of 8 cents. Sales jumped 230 percent to $27.3 million. Shares added 8 7/16 to 63 7/16. See Software Report.

Gilead Sciences (GILD)
GILD, +1.53%
posted a narrower-than-expected loss of 53 cents a share in the fourth quarter vs. the 42 cent loss in the same period a year ago. The independent biopharmaceutical company was expected to post a loss of 59 cents, according to analysts surveyed by First Call. Gilead shares rose 2 1/4 to 41 7/8.

Shares of Sequent Computer (SQNT)
sqnt
could feel some pressure in morning trading on news of disappointing fourth quarter. Earnings for the quarter were 5 cents a share, 1 cent short of the consensus estimate. Last year the company reported a fourth-quarter profit of 42 cents a share. Shares closed down 3/4 to 13 5/8 ahead of the news.

JDA Software Group Inc. (JDAS)
jdas
shares could slip Friday on news the company's fourth quarter missed the consensus estimate by 6 cents a share. JDA reported a 16-cent loss for the fourth quarter compared to a profit of 22 cents in the year-ago period. Shares closed down 9/32 to 7 1/8.

Newell Co. (NWL)
NWL, +0.97%
posted a 57-cent profit in its fourth quarter, missing the Wall Street consensus estimate by 1 cent a share. However, sales for the quarter rose to $1.07 billion from $941.2 million in the year ago period. Shares rose 2 9/16 to close at 41 9/16.

Shares of Pairgain Technologies Inc. (PAIR)
PAIR, +8.39%
fell 4.2 percent after the company posted fourth-quarter net income of $5.1 million or 7 cents a share, a penny less than analysts expected. Last year, the company posted net income of $12.7 million or 17 cents a share.Shares fell 7/16 to 10.

Shares of Herman Miller (MLHR)
MLHR, -0.59%
could slip in morning trading on news the company expects revenue and earnings to fall short of the current consensus estimates. The company sees third quarter revenue at $410 to $420 million and earnings of about 31 to 36 cents a share. The First Call consensus estimate is currently a profit of 40 cents a share. The company cited a general industry slowdown. Shares closed down 1/2 to 24.

U.S. Vision Inc. (USVI)
usvi
warned that fourth-quarter earnings will come in between 4 to 6 cents a share compared to the profit of 10 cents in the same period a year ago. The optical products retailer cited softness in sales. Shares lost 1 7/16 to close at 6 1/2.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. Intraday data
delayed per exchange requirements. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real time last sale data provided by NASDAQ. More
information on NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday
data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM)
from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SEHK intraday data is provided by SIX Financial Information and is
at least 60-minutes delayed. All quotes are in local exchange time.